2022 Supreme(Online)(Kar) 47764
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 24TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2022
PRESENT
THE HON9BLE MR. RITU RAJ AWASTHI, CHIEF JUSTICE
AND
THE HON9BLE MR.JUSTICE KRISHNA S. DIXIT
AND
THE HON9BLE MS. JUSTICE J. M. KHAZI
WRIT PETITION NO. 3821 OF 2022(GM-RES-PIL)
BETWEEN:
1. ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMENS ASSOCIATION,
NO J 129, 1ST FLOOR, 10TH A CROSS,
LAKSHMINARAYANAPURA,
BENGALURU 560021.
REPRESENTED BY ITS VICE PRESIDENT
SMT. VIMALA K S.
2. SMT. SHAMEEM
W/O SARDAR,
AGED ABOUT 45 YEARS,
RESIDENT AT 205,
VIJNAPURA, KOTHUR,
AMBEDKAR NAGARA,
NEAR GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL,
BENGALURU 560 016.
& PETITIONERS
(BY SMT. KRITI SINGH, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR
SRI. ADITYA CHATTERJEE, ADVOCATE.)
AND:
1. STATE OF KARNATAKA
REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE 560001.
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2. DIRECTOR GENERAL AND
INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE,
KARNATAKA STATE POLICE HEADQUARTERS
NO 2, NRUPATHUNGA ROAD,
BANGALORE 560 001.
KARNATAKA.
3. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,
REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY
GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA,
M S BUILDING,
BANGALORE 560001.
& RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. PRABHULING K NAVADGI, ADVOCATE GENERAL A/W
SRI. M VINOD KUMAR, AGA)
THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 OF
THE CONSITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO i)ISSUE A WRIT OF
CERTIORARI AND STRIKE DOWN THE IMPUGNED GOVERNMENT
ORDER DATED 05/02/2022 BEARING NO. EP 14 SHH 2022,
BANGALORE (ANNEXURE-A) AND ETC.,
THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR ORDER THROUGH VIDEO
CONFERENCE THIS DAY, KRISHNA S. DIXIT. J., MADE THE
FOLLOWING:
This public interest litigation has been filed seeking
following reliefs:
<i) Issue a writ of certiorari and strike down
the
impugned
Government
Order
dated
05.02.2022
bearing
no.EP
14
SHH
2022,
Bengaluru, (Annexure-A);
ii) Issue a writ of mandamus or such other
direction to the Respondents to provide protection
to students and women being harassed for
wearing
headscarves/hijabs
in
educational
institutions and other public spaces;
iii) Issue a writ of mandamus or such other
direction to the Respondents to identify culprits
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responsible for the harassment of students and
women harassed for wearing headscarves/hijabs
and lodge FIRs and investigate the matter; and
iv) Pass such other orders as the Hon9ble
Court may deem fit in the interest of justice and
equity.=
2. First petitioner, an unregistered association,
claims to be <A Womens Organization committed to achieve
democracy, equality and womens emancipation= having <a
Pan India Membership of over 1 crore.= It claims to have
the core objective of striving to unite women and widen
their participation in the struggles against authoritarianism,
communalism, separatism and other divisive forces and
uphold democracy, secularism, national integration, etc. No
evidentiary material like the bye-laws or register of
proceedings is placed on record nor quoted averred in the
petition.
3.
In this purported PIL, the first petitioner is
sought to be represented by its Vice President Smt.Vimala
K.S on the basis of Resolution dated 15.2.2022, a copy
whereof is at page 86 of the petition. The first sentence in
the Resolution reads <The Karnataka State Committee of All
India Democratic Women9s Association met on Feb-15th-
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2022=. Who were the Committee members in the meeting,
is not forthcoming. The particulars as to who all have
signed the Resolution are apparently absent. It contains the
name of one 8Devi9 who claims to be the President.
Ordinarily, when an Association, registered or not, seeks to
sue, it has to produce the bye-laws to prima facie show that
there is authorization appropriately granted for suing. This
apart, the President cannot be a sole signatory to the
Resolution, unless the bye-laws otherwise provide for that.
4.
The second petitioner Smt.Shameem claims to
be a member of first petitioner-Association and that she has
taken active measures in bringing to light the issues of
marginalized women. She also claims to be a Muslim
women having three daughters. No particulars of these
daughters have been furnished to ascertain her 8deep
concern9 about the impact of the impugned Government
Order dated 5.2.2022 on the fundamental rights of
education. Whether these three daughters are school going
children and whether those schools whichever they be,
have prescribed the school uniform/dress code, are not
forthcoming. Thus, the essential credentials for maintaining
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a PIL of the kind are militantly lacking. That apart,
apparently there is an arguable amalgam of private interest
of second petitioner and public interest of first petitioner.
Therefore, a PIL cannot be maintained vide SHEELA
BARSE vs. UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS,(1988) 4 SCC
226 wherein the Apex Court observed:
<In
a
public
interest
litigation,
unlike
traditional dispute resolution mechanism, there is
no determination or adjudication of individual
rights.
While
in
the
ordinary
conventional
adjudications the party structure is merely bi-
polar and the controversy pertains to the
determination of the legal consequences of past
events and the remedy is essentially linked to
and limited by the logic of the array of the
parties,
in
a
public
interest
action
the
proceedings cut across and transcend these
traditional forms and inhibitions&=
5.
This PIL seeks to lay a challenge to the Govt.
Order dated 5.2.2022 which has already been called in
question in several Writ Petitions by the aggrieved students
and their parents, in batch of Writ Petitions. The Special
Bench comprising three Judges has been hearing these
cases